I am writing to express my enthusiasm for the historical novel, A Thread of Gold, written by Dr. Reed Johnson.  When I had the opportunity to read the story in manuscript form, I found myself continuing late into the night because I could not bear to put it aside without first discovering what next would happen  Not only did the plot and characters carry me along, but I was intrigued with the historical content.  I grew up in Colorado and thus had always been interested in the region's history; but when I read this book I recognized that there were many events and places I had never known about before.  Dr. Johnson's tale helped me fill in a goodly amount of the missing lore.
   Because my professional life for sixty years has been spent in the field of education, I am curious about how this book might help students - especially those in Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico - understand the historical background of places they know today.  And the fact that history is cast in this book as an engaging story of adventure, mystery, and intrigue should make it particularly appealing to students as well as their teachers.
   I do hope that when the book is published, information about it will be sent to school libraries and schools' curriculum development personnel so it could be adopted as a teaching resource.
       R. Murray Thomas, PhD
       Professor Emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara
          R. Murray Thomas spent the last 30 years of a 50-year teaching career at the
          University of California, where he headed the program in international
          education...    His professional publications in the fields of education and
          developmental psychology exceed 350, including 49 books for which he served
          as author, co-author, or editor.  In retirement, he continues to write the annual
          article on education-around-the-world for the Encyclopedia Britannica Book of
          the Year.